Pagan names and pagan food?

Sometimes cultural decisions either can be or seem to be tricky. Pastor Calvin Summers of Glenfawn Baptist Church pointed out how that the four Hebrew children captured by the Babylonians accepted the king’s names (Daniel 1:7), but rejected the king’s meat (Daniel 1:8ff). That is interesting to ponder.

There is no indication in the context that they refused (to be called by) the names, as they did refuse the meat. That doesn’t mean they preferred or liked the names, but suggests they acquiesced to that which was external and outside their control. We are not responsible for what someone else does (including what they call us), but we are responsible for our own choices (including what we eat).

I think there is a lesson here to ponder.

Straight Party

As long as I have been voting, our state’s general elections offered the ability to vote “straight party.”[i] Straight party voting gives voters the option of completing their entire ballot with a single mark – a mark that votes for every candidate running for a specific party (e.g. Democrat, Green, Libertarian, Republican, etc.). This year we did not have that option. In 2017, the Texas state legislature passed HB25, ending the practice of straight party voting – beginning with the 2020 election. Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law June 2, 2017.

From the standpoint of politics, straight-party voting in Texas apparently favored the Democrats. At the least, both the Republican and Democratic parties thought so. First, the Republican Party is the majority in Congress and hold the governor’s seat, so they are most responsible for passing the bill. Second, since the Democratic sued over the change in March 2020, they must have thought straight-party voting helped their cause.[ii] In September 2020, with less than 3 weeks to the start of early voting, a federal judge blocked Texas from eliminating straight-party voting. Whatever the ins and outs of the suit and its outcome, we did not have straight-party voting on the ballot.

As a practical matter, straight-party voting helps “down-ballot” candidates – candidates whom voters often do not know and might not vote for otherwise. Ideally, the elimination of straight-party voting would force voters to make choices that are more informed on the down-ballot races. More likely, they will make ill-informed choices or just simply not vote for them at all. Straight-party voting may also expedite the voting process, making a quick one-stop experience rather than wading through each selection individually.

As a matter of principle, I do not like straight-party voting. A position is no better than the person who holds it. While party alignment reflects something about principles, voters should give serious thought to the beliefs, experience, and qualifications of each individual candidate. In practice, even if I knew ahead of time that I would be voting for candidates who all belonged to one party, I never chose to vote for the party, but selected each candidate individually.[iii]

Christians who are “all in” for a “straight party” probably are neither careful voters nor careful Christians. Christian culture is created in Christ and is prescribed in the New Testament. Though times change and cultures differ, the Christian culture is unique and exists independently of world cultures. Christian culture is neither Jewish nor Gentile (Romans 10:12, 1 Corinthians 10:32, Colossians 3:11). “Christian politics” is neither Democrat nor Republican, but seeks consistently to follow biblical principles, and will dissent from parties or candidates when they diverge from biblical principles. The culture of gathering believers – which exists outside of and independently from world governments, cultures, and standards – is universal and permanent, having neither command to change nor necessity to conform. We must be “all in” for Jesus Christ and his word.

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[i] Also known as “straight-ticket” voting. Apparently, most states don’t offer this option. According to one article I read, Texas was one of only eight states that still have straight-party voting. And then there were seven.

[ii] That they waited three years to sue seems suspiciously more like wanting to throw the November 2020 process into a kink.

[iii] Very seldom have I voted for all candidates of one party, and probably in most elections there has been some office for which I did not choose any of the candidates.

God and rulers

We had a political cartoon in our paper awhile back that called this election "the evil of two lessers." In times like these it is good to know that God is in control.

Daniel 2:21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings...

Psalm 75:7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

Exodus 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

Here He exalts neglected worms
To scepters and a crown;
Anon the following page he turns,
And treads the monarch down.

Not Gabriel asks the reason why,
Nor God the reason gives;
Nor dares the favorite angel pry
Between the folded leaves.
(Isaac Watts)

Knowing that God does all things and that He does them well teaches me that wringing my hands and worrying will neither add one cubit to my stature nor change the course God has set for this nation. I am no prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I indeed wonder if we are seeing an example of what John Calvin wrote, "that they who rule unjustly and incompetently have been raised up by [God] to punish the wickedness of the people."

In Peter's first epistle the apostle reminds us who we are. In chapter one he addressed his audience as strangers, and in chapter two he beseeched them as strangers and pilgrims. We would no doubt do well to readdress and embrace the "strangers and pilgrims" motif of the New Testament. We American Christians as a whole are quite comfortable as American citizens and often forget our true citizenship is in heaven. Like our forefathers in the faith of old, may we be persuaded of the promises of God, look for a city whose builder and maker is God, and confess that we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Clinton's derision, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• Clinton's derision of Catholics, evangelicals is revealed -- "...a batch of recently released WikiLeaks emails have torn back the curtain on the religious bigotry of the Hillary Clinton campaign."
• Election 2016 Thoughts – Part One: A vote for a 3rd Candidate is not a Wasted Vote or a Vote for Clinton -- "...I actually believe this kind of thinking is exactly why we are in the mess we are in."
• Faith-based film 'I'm Not Ashamed' slammed by atheists -- "Some are slamming the film’s premise that the first victim of the Columbine massacre, Rachel Scott, was killed after she said she believed in God."
• Gospel Missionism and the Southern Baptist Convention -- "...no studies investigate whether the Gospel Mission Movement may have been early evidence of a paradigm shift in the missiological thinking of some field missionaries which conflicted with the status quo of the home sending agency."
• How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat -- "The sugar industry paid scientists in the 1960s to play down the link between sugar and heart disease and promote saturated fat as the culprit instead..."
• Jack Chick, Christian-tract evangelist, died Sunday -- "Chick is best known for his empire of comic-book-style Christian tracts, which often featured in-your-face confrontations against beliefs and philosophies that did not agree with evangelical Protestantism..."
• Left-Wing Berkeley Protesters Demand ‘Spaces of Color’, Harass White Students Trying to Pass -- "UC Berkeley never disappoints."
• Sacred Harp -- "I love going to Sacred Harp singings."
• State of Georgia demands pastor turn over sermons -- "He was fired for something he said in a sermon."
• The Gospel of Ghoul -- "Those who indulge in such displays are taking something serious, eternal, and consequential and treating it with a finesse of a butcher doing brain surgery.
• Watch an Impromptu Medieval Icelandic Hymn Sung in a Modern Train Station -- "Despite the fact that this song, "Heyr himna smiður," dates to around 1208 and the Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof station was built in the mid-19th century, the sound and the space seem perfectly suited to one another."
• Who Moved My Old Landmark? Changing Definitions of Landmarkism in the Early Twentieth Century -- "Few aspects of the body of academic work dedicated to Landmarkism are as remarkable as the diversity with which these various scholars have defined Landmarkism."

Culture of cheating

* On scale of 1-10, it's 11 for Patriots in deflate-gate mess -- "This isn't a coincidence."

It's official. The New England Patriots were caught cheating. Again. Eleven of twelve footballs that the Patriots furnished for themselves at the AFC Championship game were under-inflated. Eleven of twelve footballs violated the rules of the game. Tom Brady -- who handled these footballs on nearly every offensive play -- originally called the charges ridiculous. Rob Gronkowski made a joke of it. And the coach's penchant for cheating has earned him the nickname "Belicheat".

Are the Patriots so different from other teams? I don't think so. I think they are simply a part of a larger culture of cheating. Not just in football. Not just in professional sports. But there is a culture of cheating in football. Former players and fans wave it off. Just let them play. What does it hurt? Everyone does it. From the youth "little league" to the High School that skirts the UIL rules to the illegal recruiting in college, the whole of its background prepares the way for a culture of cheating. It is "win at all costs" and "the end justifies the means." 

Christian coaches and players (if there are such) need to lead the way in cleaning it up. Fans should insist on it. Sadly, can we even begin to hope to limp toward such a goal?

I heard a commenter on the radio say that 4 times as many people will watch the Super Bowl as watched the President's State of the Union address on Tuesday night. We love our football. The Super Bowl reigns. We are enraptured with the culture of cheating, from cradle to the grave. These things ought not be.

Last fall the Copper Basin Youth Football League was expelled (for the season) from the Smokey Mountain Youth League for altering player's birth certificates (to allow older kids to play on younger teams).
In the fall of 2013, a Louisiana High School used another school's username and password to obtain that rival's game plan.
The NCAA is currently investigating 20 colleges for academic misconduct regarding athletes.
Picture of General Shills Cheaties breakfast cereal with Coach Belicheat on the box.

Not Ted Turner, Ted Turnau...

How should we relate to culture? Immerse ourselves within it? Withdraw to a cave or monastery? Most of us would probably say we opt for something in between these two extremes. Yet, despite our rhetoric, it seems likely that a majority of American Christians embrace our culture mindlessly and neither "push back" nor "give back". About a year ago, Ted Turnau released on the world Popologetics: Popular Culture in Christian Perspective (P & R Publishing, 2012, ISBN 1596383895), delving into what he describes as a messy issue. "...like it or not, notice it or not, popular culture plays a huge role in our day-to-day lives, often influencing the way we think and see the world." 

Here's a few "sound bytes".

"The problem is that popular culture is also a pervasive influence. It seems at once ephemeral and vital. Christians often either dismiss its influence as trivial or become flustered and assume a defensive posture. Popular culture is like something floating in the air around us, and it has the power to influence our beliefs. But we're not really sure what to do about it."

Not only are we not really sure what to do about it, we often don't know where to look for help.

"Popular culture has emerged in the last hundred years or so as one of the most significant carriers (perhaps the most significant carrier) of worldview and values in the West....For many Christians, worldview talk sounds too intellectual to be practically helpful...A worldview is the perspective from which you understand reality...like conversations, worldviews often take unexpected turns as we are confronted with the shocks, surprises, and recurring pains and delights that life throws at us."

Within our culture is an epidemic of self-love, embracing the fallen nature and casting God down from His throne. According to Jean Twenge and Keith Campbell, when we make observations about "cultural change--especially changes in the negative direction--one runs the risk of mistaking one's aging for a true shift in culture"! So for a middle-ager like me, it is encouraging to know that young Christians are observing the culture shift as well. It's not just the mistake of old men! 

So what do we do?

"Our task as Christians, then, is to respond to popular culture as a messy, deeply meaningful mixture. And I believe the only appropriate response to something that messy and that meaningful is apologetics [defending and commending the Christian faith in a context of unbelief]...Engaging popular culture will not save the world...It will allow you to enter into dialogue with [your family, your friends, the folks you work with, and the folks you relax with] and speak truth into their lives with sensitivity, insight and grace. And maybe, just maybe, it will help you love these people and be salt and light in the lives of those around you."

As culture carries conservative Christians farther than we want to go and keeps us longer than we want to stay, it is vital that we think deeply and scripturally on how we are in the world but not of the world -- And that we engage our culture, messy as it is, with a dialogue about God from the word of God.